Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Breaking Records

Monday night was a historic one at Fenway Park. The Boston Red Sox--or rather, fans of the Boston Red Sox--set a new record for selling out home games. Fenway Park has sold out for 456 games, besting the streak of 455 games set by the Cleveland Indians between 1995 and 2001. The Red Sox celebrated by defeating the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, which also had the benefit of cutting the Rays' lead in the American League East to a mere half a game. This was the first game of a three-game home stand against the Rays, so it's possible that the Sox can go take the AL East lead with another victory (although they have to win both of the remaining games to end the series in first place). They play three more games against the Rays in Tampa next week, so there's plenty of opportunity for either team to claim the advantage. Even so, as of this evening, the Sox are seven games ahead of their closest rival, the Minnesota Twins, in the race for the wild card.

The attendance streak will likely continue through the rest of the season, as long as the pennant race remains as exciting as it is at the moment. It started on May 15, 2003, so it's included both of the Sox's World Championships. When it will end? That's just going to have to be a surprise.